334: Encountering the Riddler Again

In the end, Wang Yao's match also ended in a draw.

The reason was that as the two fought, they sank deeper and deeper, eventually falling into the Void Realm together. This was considered falling out of the arena bounds, so both were eliminated simultaneously.

As a result, both sides were allowed to advance.

This caused the originally even number of participants to suddenly become uneven, meaning someone had to receive a bye.

With a bit of luck on Long Tianxing's side, he successfully received the bye for this round and was not matched with an opponent.

Wang Yao was assigned to Bai Ling, while that monk was matched against Zhou Yan.

And so, the fourth round began.

"Amitabha, this humble monk withdraws from the competition."

Just as Zhou Yan was preparing to fight, the monk raised his hand and announced his withdrawal.

Due to his performance against Chen Jiao in the previous round, this Prodigy—who had only recently entered the Nascent Soul Stage and lacked significant combat records—had once again made a name for himself among Nascent Soul Cultivators.

Therefore, no one suspected any foul play or backroom deals.

However, the crowd remained curious.

Seeing everyone's confusion, the monk spoke up to explain, avoiding any impact on Zhou Yan's reputation.

"This monk's Cultivation Technique is not suited for combat. During the previous round's exchange with Benefactor Wang Yao, I already felt my strength failing."

"So, to be able to enter the third round is already enough to satisfy me. I will not trouble everyone further with the remaining matches."

"Moreover, Benefactor Zhou is a man of great Karma, known far and wide. In this monk's eyes, the power of Karma upon him is almost overflowing. To exchange blows with Benefactor Zhou would be far too much for me. Therefore, please forgive this monk for conceding."

Hearing this reason, the audience felt it was a pity, but they expressed their understanding.

Some who had hoped to use this opportunity to see Zhou Yan display his methods were even more surprised that they didn't even get to see an exchange of blows.

At the same time, everyone remembered that Zhou Yan had indeed saved many people, so it wasn't strange for him to possess Karma.

It was just that they did not Cultivate this path and could not see exactly how thick the Karma on Zhou Yan's body was, to the point that it would make a monk withdraw without even wanting to fight.

Amidst the sounds of discussion, the first match of the fourth round ended abruptly.

"Benefactor Zhou, this monk is named Ci Xuan."

After the match ended, Ci Xuan quickly caught up to him.

This round was different from the last; there was much more space available, allowing multiple matches to proceed simultaneously.

Zhou Yan had originally wanted to hurry back to see if he could observe more of Bai Ling and Xuanyuan Qingyao's secrets, but he was stopped by this opponent he hadn't even fought.

"So it is Great Master Ci Xuan. May I ask what guidance you have for me?"

Zhou Yan looked at the large monk, and remembering his reason for withdrawing just now, he couldn't help but wonder.

Could it be that he's like Xiao Sheng, coming to ask how to obtain Karma?

But Ci Xuan's actions were unexpected.

He simply handed a small booklet to Zhou Yan.

Zhou Yan took it and saw the title on the cover: "Immovable Wisdom King Sutra."

"This is?"

Zhou Yan instinctively wanted to return it.

But Ci Xuan stopped him.

"I wonder if Benefactor Zhou still remembers Lu Renjia?"

As soon as Ci Xuan mentioned him, Zhou Yan immediately remembered.

Back during the Kaifeng competition, the last person to clash with the hidden Kun Gou was Lu Renjia. That man's hand seal seemed to have played a significant role in countering Kun Gou.

If he remembered correctly, that hand seal seemed to be related to a certain Great Master of a Buddhist sect.

Seeing that Zhou Yan remembered, Ci Xuan pressed his palms together and chanted a Buddhist name again.

"I know the Benefactor has many questions, but this monk is merely a messenger. I am not clear on the reasons behind this."

"I only know that the Buddha Son instructed me to give this Cultivation Technique to you. It will be of use in your upcoming journey."

"Once this journey is over, I hope you can travel to the Southern Desert. He said he will be waiting for you at the Tingxue Zen Monastery."

After saying this, Ci Xuan turned to leave.

But Zhou Yan did not let him go, grabbing his wrist in one swift motion.

"Great Master, don't just say half of what's on your mind. Why are you running away mid-conversation?"

Ci Xuan looked helpless.

"The Buddha Son was indeed correct; Benefactor Zhou dislikes leaving things half-said the most. If I don't leave quickly, you will surely hold me back."

"It seems I still walked too slowly."

"But this monk is truly sorry; I really don't know anything else."

Ci Xuan broke free again and walked away quickly.

Only Zhou Yan was left standing there, frowning as he looked at the technique in his hand and the receding figure.

"Am I... being played again?"

"Who is it, dammit!"

"How can they be so wicked!"

"A-choo!"

On a frozen lake surface, a monk and a young man were sitting on a floating rock in the center of the lake, playing a game of Go.

The young man was precisely Lu Renjia.

Seeing the monk opposite him sneeze, he hurriedly moved to take off his outer garment.

"Great Master, it's freezing here. Have you caught a cold? I am a Cultivator and don't fear the cold, please put on my clothes first."

The monk waved his hand in refusal.

"No need, Benefactor should wear them yourself."

"This monk said long ago that the frost cannot affect me."

"The sneeze was just a premonition; I expect Ci Xuan has already delivered the item."

Seeing that the Great Master was unwilling to wear the clothes, Lu Renjia could only wrap his outer garment back around himself and then asked.

"Is the Great Master referring to that Immovable Wisdom King Sutra?"

"Such an important thing—who is it for? A friend of yours, Great Master?"

The monk placed a stone, gently pressing down a snowflake that was floating over the board.

The snowflake melted into water under the stone and then quickly froze into ice.

"A friend... I suppose so."

"But that will be a long time from now."

"I told him he could come find me after this journey ends."

"But this journey of his will be very, very long."

Lu Renjia scratched his head. Looking at the smiling Great Master, he could only pick up another stone and place it down.

Zhou Yan quickly returned to the spectator stand.

The encounter in the corridor just now made his whole body feel a tingle of numbness. That sensation of being watched by something invisible surfaced again, leaving him feeling quite helpless.

"Sigh, why can't these people wait until I've opened up the map before appearing? Why do they have to camp in the starter village one by one to block me?"

"Exactly how many powerhouses are plotting against me? Why don't you all just come out at once and have a fight to decide who's the strongest?"

Zhou Yan slapped the Cultivation Technique onto the table, feeling somewhat irritable.

But on second thought, at least this Riddler had revealed a location where he could find him in person.

According to what he said, it should be after he returned from the Eastern Extreme Secret Realm that he should go to the Southern Desert to find him.

Although the reason wasn't clear, he should at least be able to go to the Southern Desert, right? Ma Hao wouldn't be crazy enough to chase him all the way there to capture him.

So, having made up his mind, Zhou Yan's anger dissipated.

He planned to go and see what was up with that so-called Buddha Son after this trip. If he could beat him, he would make that Buddha Son feel the pain of being a Riddler!

Ultimately, he tucked the technique into his bag, intending to let the Sect Master and the others check if it was safe after the competition before deciding whether to Cultivate it.

After all, he was different from ordinary people; he could learn the Immovable Wisdom King Sutra directly and then integrate it into his own Cultivation Technique, without needing to consider the issues of secondary or dual cultivation.

As long as there was no problem with the technique, Zhou Yan intended to accept it with a smile, as it would perfectly compensate for his lack of defensive capabilities.

If there was a problem, he would have to ask a few Seniors to go and demand an explanation for him first; perhaps then he wouldn't even need to make the trip to the Southern Desert.

Meanwhile, the battle between Wang Yao and Bai Ling had already begun.

Bai Ling still wanted to use the same tactics against Wang Yao, but Wang Yao seemed to have watched the previous replays and saw through his intentions. He resolutely refused to let him set any traces, suppressing Bai Ling with sheer strength.

This made it look like Bai Ling was being chased and beaten by Wang Yao, forced to dodge miserably, completely unable to display his true strength.

For a moment, one couldn't even tell who was Core Formation and who was Nascent Soul.

However, this was also within reason.

Bai Ling's attributes were inherently low for the Nascent Soul Stage, while Wang Yao's strength had already far exceeded the general scope of Core Formation after being reinforced by his dao body.

In a pure contest of Physical Body, Wang Yao wouldn't necessarily lose to Bai Ling.

However, the good times didn't last; Bai Ling seemed to be getting serious.

Just as everyone thought he would unfold his Nascent Soul Domain and reveal his trump card, Bai Ling's figure merely flickered, and Wang Yao paused for a moment too.

Like a dropped frame in a video, the two suddenly stuttered for an instant while moving, and then Wang Yao collapsed to the ground.

Bai Ling won.

This scene left the audience completely bewildered.

Even Zhou Yan didn't understand. He quickly pulled up the recording but found nothing.

He checked his own Sea of Consciousness again, but still found nothing.

Wait!

Zhou Yan focused again on a certain fragment in his Sea of Consciousness. Right before Wang Yao fell, one of Bai Ling's eyes had its pupil split from one into two.

Zhou Yan had an instantaneous stress response and stood up abruptly.

At that moment, Bai Ling happened to return to the spectator stand, only to see Zhou Yan's eyes glowing with golden light and his face full of rage as he grabbed him by the throat.

"Kun Gou!"

"It's you again, you bastard!"

Bai Ling was choked into a daze and struggled frantically.

"Who on earth is Kun Gou!"

"Let go, Brother Zhou! I'm Bai Ling!"